66 replies to this topic

[truebrit]

First of all let me just say that this thread is not going to be one of those threads where i lay out hundreds of pounds worth of top end parts(i wish),its going to be a long proccess of hunting down second hand ebay bargains.And then trying to figure out how to fit them together.

I've wanted a crawler for so long,i just can't wait any longer,so without any real amount of money i'm going to attempt to build one.I've been looking at manuals of various models,Rock Force,SCX10 etc,to get some ideas,and searching ebay for hours trying to find the cheapest parts possible.

Parts i have: Carson Dirtfox/ Tamiya QD Trail Master chassis:£2.99(hopefully it wont snap in the first two miuntes)
Traxxas 2056 servo
27Mhz Traxxas Tx/Rx.



New parts needed:Mtroniks TIO Rock Crawler ESC £36.00,HPI Crawler Motor 55T £11.49.

Possible parts:Wheely King axles,e-maxx center drive shaft.

The bit thats going to give me the most bother i think is the center gear.All i want is a motor-to-spur-to-shaft set up.But mounting the spur is the bit that worries me.The Kyosho Rock Force has the perfect set up for me,but i can't even find new parts for it.

If it doesn't succeed i'm sure i'll learn a few things along the way.So wish me luck.

Edited by truebrit, 26 May 2011 - 08:23 PM.

[jonnyw]

Good luck with the build, looking forward to your progress

[bbadger]

have you looked at the scx10 ax10 gearbox, it is available quite cheap from fleabay, or a number of shops sell them.

[truebrit]

bbadger, on 25 May 2011 - 10:24 PM, said:

have you looked at the scx10 ax10 gearbox, it is available quite cheap from fleabay, or a number of shops sell them.

Yeah,they are quite cheap,but i can only find them abroad,which will mean,a lot more money in postage,plus possible problems with customs.All i really need is a spur gear,with a shaft in the middle to attach the driveshafts.Of course it has to be one that i can mount without a gearbox.The Kyosho Rock Force has that set up,but even that is over £35.

Such an easy set up:

Edited by truebrit, 26 May 2011 - 03:14 PM.

[truebrit]

OK,i found a gearbox,a 2 speed savage for £10 ,i know its gonna be way fast but maybe this will end up being a rock racer in the end.Maybe if i stick an 85 turn motor in it,it will keep the speed down.

If it doesn't work i can always use it on another project.  

Edited by truebrit, 26 May 2011 - 08:30 PM.

[truebrit]

Got a 55t motor and two locked wheely king axles today £50 the lot.Soon i'll be a crawlin.

[hyper_8_racer]

got any more pics mate?

[truebrit]

I'll put some pics up when i get the axles in the post,i got two wheely king axles with RcGuy Diff Locker, hex screws and Cvd drive shafts(i'm not sure what that means,lol.),£21 each,which i thought was pretty good.And a brand new Axial 55t motor for £5.

The next stage is gearbox,all i have now is a savage 2 speed,no reverse,which will do,but is not ideal,i have found a place in the UK that does an AX10 complete locked gearbox set for £34,but i have to see if they can get it back in stock.

Then comes the drive shafts,then links,which i may make from threaded rod,super cheap,which is the name of the game with this build.

I'm not too sure what this build will end up as,i have 3 things i want to build,a rock crawler,a scaler,and a F-OFF.If i can get the AX10 box,it will be a crawler,if i'm stuck with the savage box,i'll make it a F-OFF.But i think the F-OFF i really want to build will be expensive,i am selling all i can on ebay to fund these.My E-MAXX may have to go too.

hyper_8_racer, on 29 May 2011 - 06:42 PM, said:

got any more pics mate?

Edited by truebrit, 30 May 2011 - 12:00 PM.

[truebrit]

Nearly ready to start building,got an Axial Honcho body on ebay for £20 ,and i've ordered an ax10 locked gearbox £34,as soon as that gets here (2 weeks)i'm ready to look at driveshafts and links.

[big gaz]

looks like a good start, i wouldn`t bother with the mtroniks crawler esc though. they have a lot of problems!!!

are you going to use it in water or keep it dry??

if water is your thing, go for a traxxas xl5 esc (the blue one) i run one in one of my scx10s and its been submerged many times and still runs perfect!! you can get one for about £25 ish.

if your keeping it dry, try a tamiya teu-101bk esc, cheap as chips and has a very smooth throtle curve which makes for good crawling but has no drag brakes. £20 posted from ebay.

or a rooster crawler esc, excellent drag brakes, 2s lipo compatible, great throttle control, new and used for between £40-80 again on ebay.

i have all three and run the all in scalers and for the cash, the el cheapo tamiya is hard to beat......

hope this helps, gaz.

[truebrit]

Thanks for the tips,i will want a drag brake and water proofing for sure.I've been reading about the mtroniks esc,people say the new REG-1 version is fine.As money is the issue i will have to go for the cheapest.I suppose those Rooster prices are from the U.S. ?I don't think its water proof anyway.So i will have to cross my fingers with the Mtronics one.The price of the Tamiya one is tempting tho.

big gaz, on 08 June 2011 - 07:29 PM, said:

looks like a good start, i wouldn`t bother with the mtroniks crawler esc though. they have a lot of problems!!!

are you going to use it in water or keep it dry??

if water is your thing, go for a traxxas xl5 esc (the blue one) i run one in one of my scx10s and its been submerged many times and still runs perfect!! you can get one for about £25 ish.

if your keeping it dry, try a tamiya teu-101bk esc, cheap as chips and has a very smooth throtle curve which makes for good crawling but has no drag brakes. £20 posted from ebay.

or a rooster crawler esc, excellent drag brakes, 2s lipo compatible, great throttle control, new and used for between £40-80 again on ebay.

i have all three and run the all in scalers and for the cash, the el cheapo tamiya is hard to beat......

hope this helps, gaz.

[big gaz]

i bought my rooster from another forum for £45 posted, it looked new and works fine but only "splashproof" so no not waterproof.

saying that the traxxas xl5 and novak 45t combo i have does hold on hills, not as good as a drag brake but a decent motor will hold it sufficiently on a scaler.

if you still go th mtroniks route then yes reg 1 all the way, you still may have to mod it (which costs again).

also you went the best route on the gearbox, the axial one is almost indestructable, the output shafts are about the only weak points on them but £10 from hk will get you steel ones which work loads better.

as for decent drive shafts, i have both rc4wd punisher shafts and the junfac carbon steel ones and both are tough as old boots. junfac £25 posted. punisher £70ish posted.

its not going to be cheap by the end of it but my theory is buy it once and forget. both my scx10s together stand me at just over £1000 but has taken a couple of years to get them at that stage. now there pretty much bullet proof.

[truebrit]

Do you think i wil need a slipper clutch on that gearbox?I will search ebay for any shaft that will work,maybe e-maxx or savage,or whatever bargain i find.I practicaly have no budget for this build,i am selling what i can to fund it,as i am unemployed.Your scx10's must be sweet,i'll try to find 'em on here and check them out.I think my final cost for my build will be about £170-£200,anymore than that and i'll have to sell a vital organ or join one of those pharmaceutical drug trials lol.

big gaz, on 08 June 2011 - 09:18 PM, said:

i bought my rooster from another forum for £45 posted, it looked new and works fine but only "splashproof" so no not waterproof.

saying that the traxxas xl5 and novak 45t combo i have does hold on hills, not as good as a drag brake but a decent motor will hold it sufficiently on a scaler.

if you still go th mtroniks route then yes reg 1 all the way, you still may have to mod it (which costs again).

also you went the best route on the gearbox, the axial one is almost indestructable, the output shafts are about the only weak points on them but £10 from hk will get you steel ones which work loads better.

as for decent drive shafts, i have both rc4wd punisher shafts and the junfac carbon steel ones and both are tough as old boots. junfac £25 posted. punisher £70ish posted.

its not going to be cheap by the end of it but my theory is buy it once and forget. both my scx10s together stand me at just over £1000 but has taken a couple of years to get them at that stage. now there pretty much bullet proof.

[Syncro]

I've got a REG-1 Mtronics Rock C esc fitted on my Honcho and mine works fine. I think most of the problems start if you want to use 3 cell lipo's.
I would definitely use a slipper clutch if possible. It reduces the chance of breaking something.

[big gaz]

both of the slippers on mine are almost locked tight but have a little room to work if things go wrong.

search around forums/ebay, you will find some real bargains mate.

ill try to find some pics of the other one but this is my pride and joy,